Almost 2 years later . . .photos of my May 2019 trip to Wales/UK almost done!

My Wales Castle Tour was a bit abbreviated during my May/June trip, but I had some adventures nevertheless.  I wandered around quite a bit outside the London area visiting old friends and making new ones.   I traveled a bit of a circuitous path from London using car and bus.  First I went by bus to Bristol from the LHR Terminal 2&3 bus station.  My friend in Bristol offered a bit of a road trip adventure into North Wales.  On our way, we picked up another friend in Monmouth, Wales.   With overnights in Chester then Bangor and stops on the way and in between, we got to see some very interesting places (Caernafon, Conwy, Tintern Abbey, etc).   I was dropped off in Shrewsbury, Shropshire for a few days to attend a weekend crochet workshop and check out a few touristy places.   I finished up my trip by taking a bus from Shrewsbury back to LHR via Birmingham.

I have a page where I posted collages that I am created so I can show more photos in less space.  https://cebddd.blogspot.com/p/welsh-castles-and-other-shots-from.html  Wales Photo Page

I have sort of messed about with the photos so I have moved the Bristol photos here and leave the page to Wales and our overnight stops.   Maybe a separate page for Shrewsbury, Shropshire??

But before I started off on my circuitous journey, I had some days of relaxing at a friend's (Francesca)  house outside of London.  I wish I had a pleasant house to live in surrounded by blooming plants and green fields.

And a friendly neighbor cat to come visit . . .

Bristol and Environs

Then I made my way by bus to Bristol to meetup with my friend, Claire.  I had a few days to explore Bristol before the road trip to North Wales. 

Bristol Cathedral

Here's a cheeky bird in the gardens of the Bristol Cathedral.

I love beautiful flowers and plants of all sorts.   A visit to the Bristol Botanic Gardens gave me the opportunity to take some nice photos.

Bristol Street Art

 

Clifton Suspension Bridge and local area

Ashton Court/Long Ashton

on our way to Wales from Bristol

Planning a Trip to Wales! Castles, castles, castles and other beautiful places to visit.

I am planning a trip to Wales tentatively scheduled for May 2019,   I better make at least part of it happen because I didn't manage it when I did my last trip to the UK in 2016 (London and Edinburgh).   I find that I start with lots of plans and eventually realize I can't do it all.   I scale back things based on what commitments I can make.  That means if friends actually want to meet.   I mean really meet.  Not just say it would be nice.   Because at some point I am always working against a hard schedule of trains/boats/planes, etc.  Also, London is calling!!   I am looking at the Chelsea Flower Show which I have wanted to attend since I first heard about it, oh, 30+ years ago, AFTER my very first trip to London (which featured side trips to Cardiff for 1 day, Aberdeen/Edinburgh and Paris).  See, too much. But there was a method to my madness  back then as I visited work colleagues in Aberdeen and Paris ( oil services company with operations in the North Sea.   I couldn't manage to get to Stavanger, Norway but was totally intrigued by the location.   Yes, yes, Norway is still on my list of places to visit.

But back to Wales . . . .  CASTLES!!!  More castles per square mile than anywhere else in the world.   Three castles in/near Cardiff so that is where I will start.  Not to mention 2 friends that live around there plus one moving to Bristol (not far from Cardiff).

Useful Links

South Wales:

Cardiff Castle  Cardiff Castle
Caerphilly  Caerphilly Castle
Castell Coch   Castell Coch

The Mumbles/LightHouse Mumbles

SwanseaGuide

StFagans/castle-and-gardens/


North Wales:
Caernarfon Castle


Trains/Bus/Etc:
Arriva

Tour companies:
TakeMeToWales
Hertfordshire
Rural Concierge